This invention relates to a canopy for use as a beach or swimming pool accessory. More particularly it relates to a floating canopy for use in conjunction with a floating body support member, such as an air mattress.
In recent years, a large variety of new products have been developed for use in recreational bathing activities at the beach, lakes, or in swimming pools. For body flotation, the conventional automobile tire inner tube has been replaced by a wide variety of flotation devices such as inflatable boats, air mattresses, circular life preservers, rigid foam boards, inflatable animal-shaped toys, and the like. Users may lie on these raft-type devices for many hours, relaxing and enjoying the sun. At the present time, however, there is no convenient way to shield any portion of the user's body from the sun while lying on these rafts. For instance, a bather may wish to shade his face from the sun, particularly when reading, or to prevent overexposure.
While many portable shade-rendering devices are known, none are intended for use independently with a floating raft. For example, Boyd, U.S. Pat. No. 2,737,193, discloses a bed canopy having a tubular frame, the bottom portion of which is inserted under a bed mattress. Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 1,921,984, discloses a portable combined sunshade and headrest having a wire frame. Canvas stretched across the lower portion of the frame supports the user's head, while a raised parallel strip of canvas located above the head support acts as a sunshade. A similar portable sunshade is shown in Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 2,070,484. Jones discloses a pillow having an upholstery filling useful as a headrest, a vertical back panel comprising canvas on a wire frame, and a similar horizontal panel useful as an awning. The device can be folded for use as a handbag. However, the Jones pillow cannot be used in the water. Another similar beach pillow is shown in Kleiser, U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,931. This patent discloses a horseshoe shaped inflatable pillow useful as a headrest, with two vertical support rods attached thereto for mounting a visor.
it is an object of the present invention to provide a floating canopy which can be used independently with a floating raft, but does not require attachment to the raft. It is another object of the invention to provide a floating canopy wherein the awning portion is easily detached from the floating base for use with a chair. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device which is easily portable, and which can be folded and stored flat. These and other objects of the invention will be more easily understood through the following detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention.